The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court set October 20 for holding a hearing on the government’s review petition filed seeking review of the apex court’s verdict that declared the 16th Amendment illegal.
The 16th Amendment to the Constitution had empowered Parliament to remove judges of the Supreme Court for incapacity and misbehavior.
Advocate Haridas Paul said that after presenting the review application Justice M Enayetur Rahim fixed the date.
A full bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, is set to hold the hearing.
When the amendment was passed on January 5 in 2014, it removed the provision of the Supreme Judicial Council.
Later on September 17, Parliament passed the 16th constitutional bill, giving it the ability to remove top judges.
The government last had this power during Ziaur Rahman’s military rule in 1972.
On May 5 in 2016, the High Court scrapped the amendment and declared it illegal and unconstitutional.
The court said the legislatures in different countries of the world have the power to remove Supreme Court judges, and the Constitution of Bangladesh also had this provision in the beginning.
However, they termed the amendment a mistake from the past.
On May 18 in 2018, the government appealed against the High Court’s decision.
However, it was rejected by the Appellate Division, led by former Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, on July 3 in 2017.
Later on December 24 in 2017, the government filed a petition again to review the Appellate Division verdict, putting forward 94 arguments in favour of the 16th Amendment.